No abstract

Compensatory renal growth, that is, renal growth following contralateral nephrectomy, is mediated by either the elaboration or the activation of a renotrophic growth factor. Since tumor growth may be modulated by various factors, we evaluated the effect of the renotrophic growth factor associated with compensatory renal growth on the Wistar/Furth rat Wilms' tumor. When compared to tumors grown in sham nephrectomized animals, tumors grown in animals who had undergone unilateral nephrectomy showed an increase in tumor weight and in DNA content. In addition, the rate of new cell formation as reflected by the uptake of tritiated thymidine into tumor cells was significantly higher and did not decline when tumors grown in animals who had undergone unilateral nephrectomy were compared to tumors from sham nephrectomized animals. Our studies therefore suggest that the renotrophic growth factor associated with compensatory renal growth may have ubiquitous growth regulating activity and that further studies may elucidate its role in the modulation of normal and neoplastic growth.

Documentation processes are an indispensible part of patient care. Timely access to complete and accurate documentation is crucial to patient safety. However, there is no sufficient tool to help health care professionals effectively manage documentation processes. In this study, we developed an evaluation methodology, including a documentation matrix, a documentation process flow diagram, and a document value tool, to analyze the necessity and redundancy of the documentation processes. We applied this methodology in a gastrointestinal lab and improved the transparency of the documentation processes among providers.